Artist uses comic to learn family history

David Lasky, a local comic artist and art teacher, was recently hired by Public Health — Seattle & King County to do a comic about the possibility of an upcoming flu pandemic. It was done in comic form for non-English speakers to easily understand the message.

When Lasky took the job, he wasn’t aware it would hit close to home.

“My great-grandmother died in the 1918 flu pandemic,” he said. “It was a connection to my past and gave me a much better understanding about what happened to her.”

Lasky said he wasn’t aware, and so many other people aren’t aware, that half a million Americans died of the flu in 1918.

“Doing this comic I realized I wasn’t alone,” he said. “This affected thousands of families in this county.”

The comic will be distributed at schools throughout the state, and has been translated into 12 languages. You can also find it at local King County health offices.